Dear Parents,
     Well here we are it's Thursday!!  To be more specific the last Thursday before Christmas break.  YAY!!  I will miss your children over our long break.  I think we are all ready for the time away though.  It will be important for them to spend time with their family.  Some are so excited about family they get to see!!  This to me is what the season is about.  The smiles on their faces and not hearing about presents, but family.  You are all amazing and have taught your children well.  Merry Christmas to all of you!!!

Language Arts-  We will finish the last lesson in Unit 3 this week.  We will take a normal Friday assessment tomorrow.  This week the story was Ecology for Kids.  It was pointing out the ecosystems in the world and how they affect one another and how important they are.  It also talked about what we can do to help protect them.  When we return from break, on the Thursday and Friday we will be taking the Unit 3 test.  

Social Studies - We finished up the Northeast Region this week.  You should have seen the test scores last night.  I was very happy with them.  Some students really need to work on the labeling of the states.  This is highly important.  At the end of the year they will ask to label all 50.  Learning them a region at a time is not so overwhelming.  Please help work with them on this.  When we return from break we will start the Southeast and assign new projects.  I have really enjoyed the kids projects this round!  They all seem to have worked hard and are very proud of their work.  They are improving on presenting also.

Math - We have been focusing on graphs.  They have learned about pictographs, bar graphs, line plots, and a line graph.  We also learned how to use graphs to solve problems.  We did a fun activity last week involving coordinate grids and being able to follow directions on a grid.  They loved it.  I have 5 or 6 pictures to create. Most of them have a goal of doing all of them.  Tomorrow we will spend some time, playing games or doing those pictures.  When we return from break, we will kick it into full gear and begin new content.  Double-digit multiplication will cause us to slow down.  I need to be able to see that each student masters this skill.  I will teach at a pace, which is considered student lead.  I will take all the time we need to understand. 

Reminder:  Make sure you send a sack lunch with your student tomorrow.  Do not send a drink with them, milk will be provided!  We will have a normal morning then will be watching a movie after our caroling in the gym.  We will have a snack and water during the movie.  Both are provided. 

I would like to say to you again, thank you all for sharing your children with me!!  I really enjoy working with all of them.  I hope you all have a very very Merry Christmas!!  My next letter will be next year!!!  Have a safe New Year.  God Bless 2014!!

God Bless,
Mrs. Sickels

Dear Parents:
     Well, Happy Thursday!!!  Another week has gone by.  This week has been better.  We have had a normal week with a normal schedule.  I think they are thankful for the routine but not for the work! (ha ha)  I have hit panic mode.  I have no shopping done!!!  I will be busy the next couple of weekends! First family Christmas is the 21st and I am not ready.  I usually have presents under the tree by now.  You have to buy some to wrap them.  I have never been so late!  I hope you all are doing better than I am this year.

Language Arts:  This wee our Story is called The Life and Times of the Ant.  It is an informational text on how the life of an ant is.  They discuss jobs for the ant, homes, all the tunneling and what happens in each chamber of the ant hill.  This unit has stories all dealing with nature.  We are learning about present participles, past participles, and participle phrases.  These are words ending in ~ing and ~ed and are used as adjectives.  the last 2 stories spelling lists led us into this lesson because they dealt with words ending in these two suffixes.  We are also discussing suffixes in decoding.  We looked at all sorts of suffixes that are used and discussed spelling rules and also how it helps break words into syllables.  We will be taking a normal Friday test tomorrow.

Math: We have learned about pictographs, line plots, and bar graphs so far.  Today we will talk about coordinate pairs and a coordinate grid.  Tomorrow we will do some fun Christmas pictures based on the same idea as coordinate pairs but using letters and numbers.  We will not be testing over this until after Christmas break.  This is an easy chapter that kids have a lot of fun with.  I am glad it worked out we are doing this chapter now.  After this chapter things will pick up and we will get into the topic of Multiplication. We will be learning double-digit multiplication.  This will be a challenge for all 4th graders because it is new content.

Social Studies:  The projects are going very well.  I am excited about what has been coming in.  Kids seem so proud of their work.  Even the questions they ask each other are great!  They really have an interest in learning each state.  We will begin reviewing for a test.  The test will be about next Tuesday or Wednesday.  They will need to be able to label all 11 states on a blank map.  I gave the maps last week to make an answer key and extras to practice on.  I have others in the room to use to practice for the test.  Please help encourage them to practice on them.

Friday, Dec. 20, 2013:  Here are the events that will be happening.  The morning will be normal and go as planned.  At noon they will eat a sack lunch with their Advent Angels.  At 12:30 we will gather for a Christmas sing-a-long in the gym.  At 1:00 the kids will be dismissed to go back to their rooms to enjoy a movie and a snack.  Please send a water bottle with your student that day.  We will allow them to use them during the movie and snack.  When the movie is finished we will play games together until time to go.  If your child has a favorite game from home that they would like to play they are allowed to bring it with them.  This will be our Christmas party to send the students off for the holiday.

Key reminders:  Sack lunch on Friday the 20th, also may bring game and water bottle.

Just to let you know, we have raised over $1,000 for the Philippines.  This is incredible thinking about each child paying 50 cents to a $1.00 for things.  Way to go St. Malachy!!
Also the extra money raised for TJ and Nate Frey's flowers are being used to donate books to our library, because those boys were very big readers.  The remaining will be used to have something in memorial of the boys here at school for kids to see.  If you have any input on what you would like to suggest that to be, please feel free to email Ms. Surma or myself.  We are open to suggestions.  We have a couple ideas but very willing to hear from you, it is your donation money.

God Bless,
Mrs. Sickels

Dear Parents:

     What a week we have had!!  Kids seem to be coping very well.  Our prayer in the morning has changed.  We sit in a small circle near prayer center and light candle on Advent Wreath.  We go through prayer and then we do any visiting we need to.  Topics are our thoughts, feelings, cares, concerns or fears.  They have really come together as a group and helped one another this week.  I am very proud of these kids!!  They each tug at my heartstrings in many ways.  I have probably had more emotions than the students, and I have openly shed tears.  I feel it's important for them to see.  I would again like to thank all of you for sharing your children with me.

Language Arts - We have been working through a story this week as best we can.  I have tried to not bombard them.  The story is called Antarctic Journal: Four Months at the Bottom of the World.   It is about the author who travels there and stays for four months to study the environment.  It does involve a lot of talk about ice.  So far no big discussions have come up.  I am sure before the week is up we will talk about ice safety.  I do not plan on giving a Friday test this week.  We haven't been able to cover everything from the test this week and it would not be a fair assessment.  Focusing has been hard for all of us, including me.  We are still going through the motions but not sure how much we are absorbing.  I may use text as an partner activity for practice but not as an assessment.

Math -  We finished up a chapter before break.  We have corrected tests, I need to put a score on them and then they will come home to be signed.  This week we are starting a unit on Graphs.  We will cover pictographs and line plots this week.  This is a fun unit too.  Learning all the different kinds of graphs.  I also have a fun Christmas activity planned using coordinate pairs when we get to that.  Math shouldn't be too stressful from now until Christmas.

Social Studies -  We practiced labeling the Northeast Region on maps this week.  They will be required on the next test to be able to label all the states in this region.  I gave them extra maps to continue to practice on.  We have been fitting social studies in off and on all week.  Remember project due dates start next week.  I am excited and students are too.  Some are completely done and have asked several questions to see if completed correctly.  Good for them!!!

Funeral:  I wanted to let you know that Ms. Surma and I plan to be at the visitation the entire time.  We feel for your kids to see a familiar face even if they are with you will be comforting.  We just want to help aid in this process in any way we can.  Your children are our priority.  They are welcome to find us for a hug or just to say "Hi".  I pray for all of you as you help your child pay respects and say good-bye to their classmate.

God Bless,

Mrs. Sickels

Dear Parents,
More information:
Ben and Nicole Adamson would like to collect monetary donations from the 4th grade and 5th grade families. They are going to use the money to purchase flowers, a statue, or a stone (depending on donations) for each of the boys from our separate grades. So, if you would like to donate money, please have your child bring it to school tomorrow (Wednesday). That will give them time to order it before the visitation and funeral.  I appreciate anything you can do to help. Thank you.

Mrs. Sickels

Dear Parents,
     I am writing at the request of your children.  They wanted me to be sure the funeral information for Nathan and T.J. were put on here so their parents would know for sure.  Please refer to powersfh.com for all arrangements and to send condolences.

Funeral service:
     Saturday, Dec. 7, 2013
     10:00 A.M.
     Holy Spirit Catholic Church

Visitation:
     All day Friday
     Family will receive friends 6:00 P.M. - 8:00 P.M.

     I just spoke with Leisa Frey.  It is her request that the 4th and 5th graders at St. Malachy be named as Honorary Pallbearers at the funeral.  Individual names will not be listed.

     Please continue to lift up the family in prayer through this time.  Your kids are great and seem to be doing very well.  My biggest concern is them and being able to share their thoughts and feelings.

     Thank you so very much for sharing your amazing children with me.  I truly enjoy working with them every day. 

God Bless,
Mrs. Sickels

Dear Parents,
     I want to wish all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving!!  Safe travels to all of you who are traveling to be with family.  I am not going to complete a formal letter, but just want to make you aware of some things before the break!!

Thanksgiving - Thanksgiving break is here!!! We get out at 2:10 on Wednesday, and have no school Thursday or Friday.  Enjoy the break and the time with family!

Advent - Remember Advent starts on Monday.  We will be lighting an Advent wreath here at school during prayer.  The student will also have advent angels and do activities together with their partner throughout Advent.

Dress Rehearsal for Christmas Concert: The Christmas concert dress rehearsal is on Friday, December 6th. Please check the take home folder for the permission form.  We will be going to the YMCA for practice.

Lighted Christmas Parade: The Civics Club is helping put together a float for the Lighted Christmas Parade. The parade is on Thursday, December 5th at 7:00 pm. We will be in need of students to walk along with the float and hand out "testamints" and holy cards. 

Art- I am looking at trying to get in an art project in the month of December.  This project requires the student to have a milk jug.  It doesn't matter what size, it can be gallon or half gallon, but MUST be plastic.  No cardboard.  Have your child bring one in whenever you can in the first couple weeks of December.  Please be sure to rinse them out thoroughly so there will be no curdled milk smell.  If you are on Pinterest you can go to my "education" board and see the project I plan to do.  When the students bring it home they are going to want a small strand  of white Christmas lights.  I was hoping to get done and send home and people could find lights on clearance after Christmas to put in it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

God Bless,
Mrs. Sickels

Dear Parents,

     Happy Thursday!! I feel like Thursdays are coming around very quickly.  We are nearing the end of the year.  The end of the year from conferences/Halloween to Christmas break always seems to fly by.  We are coming up to Thanksgiving all ready.  We have really had a great month.  I feel the students have really enjoyed a lot of the things we have been doing in class.  Even though I had an extra month of summer vacation, I am looking forward to Thanksgiving.  We are traveling to Chicago, with my two 16 year old girls sharing in the driving!!  It will be great experience for them.  Honestly, there is no traffic at the time, except on I-80, but once we are off that right inside Illinois, it's smooth sailing.  I hope all of you who may be traveling have a safe trip and a great Thanksgiving.

Math - We only have about one more lesson in Math that is required in the Iowa Core.  I will preparing them for a test.  We will take it before Thanksgiving, so we are able to start something new when we return.  We will move into reading and interpreting graphs and data.  It will be a chapter that the kids will enjoy.  After that we will really hit the hard stuff, meaning multiplication.  We will learn to multiply double digits.  I really enjoy teaching this section because it is a "new" topic and the kids really feel "big" when they learn it.  I see the smiles, and I see them working hard to understand because they want to be like the big kids.  You can help by starting to work on their multiplication facts at home.

Language Arts - We finished up the Unit 2 test last week.  We are in the 2nd story in Unit 3 now.  Last week we read a story on hurricanes, this week it is on Earthquakes.  The difference in the stories is that last week was informational text or a non-fiction selection that was chock full of information.  This story on earthquakes is historical fiction, so while trying to give us information on earthquakes it is also telling a story.  It is an interesting story line about a father and son in the San Francisco earthquake of 1906.  They were in a tenement building at the time and end of trapped.  It brings up fears of natural disasters with kids.  We have talked about our fears in class.  This is also a story that makes us look a little deeper into the thoughts of the characters.

Social Studies - I hope everyone is working on their projects for the Northeast.  Some students need to bring in their poster board so I can get it ready for them.  I want to remind you these are meant to be fun and only a few require adult supervision.  These are not meant to be stressful.  I know students are very busy outside of school, which is why I try to give them an ample amount of time to work on them.  Please check out the dates they are due.  I wrote down some wrong dates.  The day is correct but the date is wrong. If I said the 8th, 9th, 10th, or 11th, the dates are a day off.  Not sure what I did wrong but maybe was looking at wrong calendar.  We are moving through this chapter quite quickly.  We just finished a lesson on the Narragansett Tribe of Rhode Island.  We learned how they lived, what they lived in, how society worked, and what they used for government.

I hope you all have a great weekend!!

God Bless,

Mrs. Sickels

 

Dear Parents,
     Happy Thursday!!  I was out of the classroom for a test that was run in Des Moines.  I really hate being out of the classroom and away from the kids.  My time off at the beginning was more than enough for me.  I am hoping that was the last of my appointments until next fall.  We all need to put that in our prayers.

Language Arts -  We have accomplished a lot this week.  We have taken the Unit 2 test this week and covered a story!!  This has made it busy but it does work.  I usually begin the class with one section of the test, then finish out with the activities we do over the story.  This story this week is very hard.  It is an informative piece on Hurricanes.  It is interesting yet very descriptive and I am finding it challenging to follow.  I will do my best to help the students understand, but I am going to insist the students bring their book home today and read the story to / with a parent.  I am hoping this will help you see how much this series steps it up and makes the students accountable for some challenging reading and show you that we are trying to get students to do some deeper thinking when reading different genres.  I will share results of the  Unit test with students next week, and send a copy of results home to you in next weeks folder.

Math - I am finding this chapter fun to teach.  We have tons of vocabulary words we are learning about.  I am finding it successful to have them put vocab into their notebooks before we begin going over the lesson.  This makes the lesson very easy to teach or help them to understand.  I feel they are showing a little more enthusiasm about this content also.  I do know Mrs. Burg covered this stuff last year quite well.  We are taking this chapter slowly.  I will pick up the pace when I am not trying to teach too much in one day, or the vocabulary amount slows down.  I am sure we will be testing over this chapter in December.

Social Studies - We took a test this week.  Students did pretty well over all.  There were a lot of vocabulary on this test.  Some really struggled in this area.  I hope to send the test home today or tomorrow for you to look at and sign.  We will begin moving onto the next chapter today.  We are still covering the Northeast region.  I will be working with them now on locating or labeling a map with those states.  I will give them a blank sheet with just that region on it, and have them practice labeling the states.  On the next test they will be expected to label all 11 correctly.  This is a difficult region because there are so many small states that are easily confused.  This is something that you could help them work on at home.  They can bring a blank sheet to have at home also.

I hope all of you have a great weekend!!

God Bless,
Mrs. Sickels

Dear Parents,
       Happy Thursday!!  I hope everyone is having a great week! We are doing well here in 4th grade.  This is like the 2nd full week of school since my return on September 30th.  We have either had no school or early outs every week but 2!! I actually can't count it a full week though because I am leaving at 11:30 today for a doctor's appointment.  This appointment is with a neurologist.  He will watch me for a while to make decisions about the seizure I had and when to take me off the medicine for them.  He will not release me to drive. That doesn't happen until January 21st of 2014, so next year!!  In case you didn't know it is a state law that  if you have a seizure you can't drive for 6 months.  I have to admit it is a long time, but I believe it is a good law to protect myself, my kids and others on the road.

Math - We started geometry this week.  We have spend three days talking about shapes and all their features.  The students actually created solid figures with a partner and used them to make a chart listing number of faces, number of edges, and number of vertices each shape has.  This one lesson, which is to be taught in one day had 15 vocabulary words!!!  That was insane.  We will spend the next 2-3 weeks dealing with different kinds of shapes.  We also have another lesson with 13 vocabulary words dealing with lines, line segments, and angles.  Lots of work for us in the future!!  I admit this can be a fun chapter too!!

Language Arts- I would like to point out that the student scores on last weeks story were FABULOUS!!   The decoding is getting better! I had lots of 10/10 scores.  I am getting more comfortable with the subject matter and trying to make the learning process more inviting.  This week is lesson 10 which is the last one is Unit 2.  That means next week will be a test week over unit 2. If you remember from conferences I discussed how long these tests were.  We will take it over 3 days next week.  

Social Studies - I will send home the student's project due dates tomorrow.  The dates will range from Dec. 8 - 20!!  They still have lots of time to work on the project.  Please any questions make sure you ask.  We have talked this week about the resourced of the Northeast, focusing on grapes, cranberries, maple syrup, marble and granite.  

As seasons are definitely changing and colder weather is approaching there is a rule on the dress code I need to put out to you.  This was a new addition to the dress code for this year.  I have had to review it myself so wanted to make the parents aware also.  I know there have been a couple of students who have broken it all ready and I have missed it.  This rule is found in Everyday, all-year-long expectations (letter D) and in Mass expectations (letter D). 

Here it is:  Leggings may be worn as long as the bottom of the dress, skirt, or shirt extends to at least mid- thigh.  The mass expectation is the same but only applies to dress or skirt.  Shirts not allowed on mass days.

The problem we have been seeing is that the sweater is not reaching mid-thigh, yes it is covering the child up, but needs to come to mid-thigh so when they bend over or reach up high they still remain covered appropriately.  You can refer to the dress code on the St. Malachy website. Thank you for all your cooperation.

Have a great weekend!!
God Bless,
Mrs. Sickels

Dear Parents,
     Happy Thursday and Happy Halloween!!!   It gets a little crazy on these days because kids are so pumped up for the afternoon activities.  I am trying to force some actual learning in this morning.  Our parade is always the favorite of the day along with scary stories, haunted houses, and eating cookies.  Please be safe tonight on your trick or treating adventures.  I would like to point out that I will not be home for the kids to come to my house.  I will be in Lewis Central watching the girls volleyball team on their second round in the regional tournament.  If they would win tonight it will be the first time since 1987 that Creston Volleyball has made it to substate, which was when the team made it all the way to state.  I am proud to say I was member of that team!!  Go Panthers!!!

Language Arts- We read a story last week called "Invasion of Mars" it was a story based on the Orson Welle's War of the Worlds.  It was a radio broadcast of that event meant to entertain people.  The problem with it was if people didn't hear the introduction, they thought the broadcast was live and true.  They assumed we were really being attacked by aliens.  It was total chaos.  Yesterday marked the 75th anniversary of this broadcast.  I found it on internet and we listened to it.  We decided it did sound real and would be very scary.  This week we are reading about a young girl who is writing an apology to the librarian for something she did.  It is a funny story about how we do things cause we are told to but never fully take responsibility for our own behavior.  We have laughed about it but also talked about how we each do this in some way.  We have worked on compound and complex sentences this week, which has not been an easy task.  Also in decoding we practiced recognizing common beginning syllables like: a, be, de, con, com, and pre.  The students worked in partners to divided words into syllables.   Remember to study vocabulary tonight, we will take the end of the week assessment tomorrow.

Math - Today we took a test over Chapter 3.  I am excited to see how the students did. This is the first assessment I have given the kids in this subject where I have taught all the material.  I hope to see some great scores!!  I feel they did a great job learning the skills taught this chapter.  We focused on multiplication and division and also had a little bit of algebra in there working with variables.  Next we will move into a chapter on Geometry.  We will probably spend the rest of this year discussing Geometry.  Towards December we may work on charts, graphs and data.  

Social Studies- We picked our states this week!  They also chose the project they will do.  I will send home due dates next week. They are all very excited about doing this.  We have begun talking about the Northeast Region.  It is made up of 11 states:  Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland.  We have talked about Niagara Falls and the power plants there.  We have talked about the Appalachian Mountains, and a few other significant mountain ranges.  We have also discussed that two states out of the 11 do not have a border with the Atlantic Ocean and that the region has both rocky shores and sandy beaches on their coastline.

Happy Halloween!!  Have a great night trick or treating, but remember the Language arts end of the week test!!!

God Bless,
Mrs. Sickels

Dear Parents,
     Tomorrow ( Oct. 30). is red and black day in honor of football playoffs.  I realize it is a mass day.  Students who choose to wear red and black may also wear jeans.  If they choose to not wear red and black they are expected to wear regular mass clothing.

We also have mass on Friday, because it is All Saints Day and a holy day of obligation for all Catholics.  We expect regular mass attire on this day.

Have a great week!!

Dear Parents,
 Happy Thursday!!  Next week we have conferences!! I only have one family not signed up.  Please be sure to sign up and double check your times.  I apologize that my schedule has changed a couple of times.  I have been trying to set up my own at the High School and that takes some work.  I look forward to seeing all of you and discussing how your children are doing.  See you all next week.

Math - We have been discussing division in math.  We have used manipulatives to show what division looks like, we talked about multiplication and division being related using fact families,  we have also spent some time writing multiplication and division story problems.  We will be working our way towards a test very soon.

Language Arts -  This week we read a story called Me and Uncle Romie, it was a good story.  The story was around centered on art and so the vocabulary words were also related to the artist world.  We discussed syllables in words and how some sounds are stressed and others are not.  We have been working on the sounds /ou/ and /o^/ in spelling.  We talked today about figurative language.  This is one of my favorites.  We compared if you took the words literally what they would look like and what they look like as figurative language.  Some of the phrases used were familiar and some were not.  Tomorrow we will read the story the last time, hold discussion then take the end of the week test.  I think I am seeing these scores get better.  I will share them at conferences.

Social Studies - In social studies we are finishing up the chapter on economy.  The students will be testing tomorrow.  We went over the study guide today and they have the answers they need to study for tomorrow.  Next week we begin Unit 2 which starts talking about one specific region which is the Northeast.  We will also begin practicing our states and capitals song.  This is one way to learn all the states and their capitals. It is a fun song. You can find it on youtube.  It is sung by Macho Nacho and is called the States and Capitals song.  Please get it so they can practice at home.  Projects for social studies will also begin soon.  I will hand out a packet and discuss at conferences.

Thank you for all you do for your kids at home to help them be better students.  I am seeing some improvements in their use of study hall and working hard to get things done.  I am also seeing some getting into a routine and being organized.  Those who are still struggling, we will get there.  I have no doubt about that.  Have a great weekend.

God Bless,
Mrs. Sickels

Dear Parents:

     Happy Thursday!!!  I am on my second week back and feel great!!  I am really keeping on top of the kids using their time wisely.  During work time they really want to visit, play with things, or just stare around the room.  I am pushing  for them to work hard so they are not bringing homework home. These students have the capability to work hard if they would focus and work.  A few more weeks and I will have them trained.  I will look forward to conferences to discuss your child's progress and behaviors specifically during that work time.  Remember conference schedule is online, please sign up.  I have first 2 times crossed off so that I can go to the High School and have my own conferences for my older two.  There are still 20 slots to fit all of you in.  Please find a time that works.

Math - This week we reviewed the distributive property.  After students completed the diagnostic checkpoint on Monday, there were students who didn't show their work.  What I found was they didn't understand it enough to show the work.  I retaught the lesson and gave them a few more problems to practice.  We are now starting to work on Division. We used manipulatives to show how to work division problems and today we discussed how multiplication and division are related and practiced fact families.  I feel like these topics are easy for them right now.  It will get harder as we go along.  

Language Arts - This was my first week actually teaching the weekly lessons.  WOW!! It is busy and has  a lot of material to cover.  I covered what I thought was important for he students to learn.  I felt like the week was a success. Reading the story everyday is new to me and hard!!  We read everyday but one.  I read it to them first day, they read with partner second day, third day on their own, and Friday we will read as whole group and discuss.  We have had spelling lessons, grammar lessons, vocabulary lessons and decoding lessons mixed in.  WHEW  Thats a lot.  Your kids are really learning a great deal more now in this new series!  Your child is also writing a Halloween Story.  It is due tomorrow.  

Social Studies - We are learning about the economy of the United States.  Pretty difficult stuff!  We know our economy is called  a free enterprise system and is based on supply and demand.  We learned what producers and consumers are and how to make a profit.  There are a lot of "big" words in this chapter.  We will focus on globalization, and interdependence next week.  Have your kids talk to you about these items.

I am very happy to  be back, and I am enjoying being with the kids everyday.  Thank you for all your patience!!  Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns about your child.  I have a prep period from 8:30 - 9;00 everyday but Wed. and  on Tuesday it is 8:30 - 9:30.  I am usually at school til 3:45 every night.  Have a great weekend!!

God Bless,

Melissa Sickels

I really want to apologize about the Coming Events section or Important Dates.  I have been trying to change them since Thursday.  There must be a problem somewhere.  I am not the only one experiencing technical difficulty.  I will change them as soon as I can get it to work.  Sorry that it is all September dates.  Have a great week!!!

Dear Parents,

     I Am Back!!!!   I am here and doing great!!  I am enjoying being back with the students and getting into a routine with them.  I do go home right after school each night and am very tired.  I try to take it easy all evening, but even that has gotten better since the beginning of the week.  I have more energy than I thought I would.  I bet I can blame the students smiles on my energy level!!  It truly has been a great week back.  I will admit only thing I miss is my "coffee ladies" and "lunch ladies".  We did coffee more than lunch.  

Mrs. Gammell did a great job!  She did everything I would have done.  I walked in and my plans are right on track.  What an awesome feeling for a teacher.  I know that the kids learned while I was gone and that was the important thing.  Things won't change much, except she did a lot of worksheets together that I consider homework for the students to do on their own. So students will be kept busier and learn the importance of a study hall and working hard. 

Language Arts - Students have been taking the Unit 1 test this week.  It is good for me to come back and look at how much they learned and talk to Mrs. G to hear where they struggled.  We will finish this test today.  Next week we will dig into Unit 2, which will be new to me.  From what I can see in the text, we will be busy, busy, busy!!

Math - They are doing well in Math.  Again it was great to see them right on track!!  We have discussed the distributive property this week and used it to help us work on multiples of 10, 11, and 12.  We worked with flash cards to practice our facts too.  I know they did a lot of work out of the book while I was away which is great, but I do more work using  worksheets.  We will use the problems in the book for guided practice, or if I can see we are struggling with the skill I will start by having them complete work out of the book and spend a couple days on that lesson.

Social Studies -  This week we begin talking about how the Economic System of the United States began.  We begin by discussing trade and what it was like then and now.  We will move on to learn what our economic system is called and what it is primarily based on.  It is a free enterprise system, which says we can produce and sell whatever we want.  It is based on supply and demand.  How much something is needed and how much we have of it.  Great lesson for kids to learn but for some it may be a lot to grasp. Chapter 3 is the last chapter over the United States as whole.  In Chapter 4 we begin discussing the regions separately.

I would like to say thank you to all of you for being patient during unfortunate time.  It did put me at ease knowing that my classroom was covered very well, by someone who I knew would teach the kids.  I appreciate you working with her.  I would like to point out I will still be missing half days here and there because I have to continue to see a neurologist for the seizure I had.  He will decide if the tumor was the actual reason for the seizure, which we are pretty sure it was.  He will decide when to take me off the medicine and when I can drive again, which still looks to be January 21st.  

God Bless,

Mrs. Sickels

 

Dear Parents,
       Hello!!!  I am feeling good about getting on here and letting you know some updates.  Things have been progressing at school just as I would expect them to.  I am in contact with Mrs. Gammell and know what is going on in classroom.  I am proud of the students and how they are moving forward just like the should even though Mrs. Sickels is not there.  I hope to visit on Monday during the mass in my Iowa State gear!!!

I just want to share that my surgery went very well.  I think even better than expected.  The Dr. gave a time frame and he was finished earlier than he had thought which made my family a little nervous, but it was due to everything going smoothly.  I asked up front how much hair would be taken, they told me all of it, so yes, I have very little hair.  It is growing back quickly though.  The only surprise to me was the size of the incision, but I didn't openly ask about it.  It is exactly what the Dr. expected it to be.  I just didn't want to know that going in.  It was a shock to me, but normal for this procedure.  I will say "God works in mysterious ways" because finding this and getting it taken care of now was a great blessing.  The relief of a "benign" tumor also is a blessing.  I have been thanking God every day since surgery for all the true blessings I have in life.

Math seems to moving along as it should be.  Place value is the first chapter of the year and is one that takes some time getting the students back into a routine with school and thinking about Math.  Mrs. Gammell did some assessing and is doing some reviewing in areas where there are weaknesses.  We really reach up into those higher numbers.  Some of the lessons seem so simple and others are very time consuming.  Keep up the good work.

Social Studies is moving right along also.  Your child should be seeing a test very soon in this area.  I didn't visit with Mrs. G today to know if they are reviewing yet or not.  If plans are on schedule they should begin a study guide today or tomorrow.   Study skills will be a topic of discussion too.  Your sub is a pro and teaching great study strategies.

I hope all of you are doing well.  Again, I hope to stop by or a visit on Monday for Mass.  Please, I guess, warn your student that I have no hair and will be wearing a hat/scarf.  I don't want to shock them.  I hope all of you had a great Labor Day weekend and are looking forward to the Food Fair.  I know I am!!

God Bless
Mrs. Sickels

Dear Parents,
     It has been a nice 3 days. (Half days for me).  We have accomplished a lot.  Students are adjusting to 4th grade quite nicely.  When the homework really kicks in, things might fall apart a little but we expect that.  Once they learn the routine, and have a better feel of what is expected of them it will get better!

Math - We took a diagnostic test this week.  This test tells me what the students know coming into 4th grade.  It shows me areas of concern as whole class, it shows me areas that might not require as much attention.  It also shows me individually how students are doing and what we need to focus on for them.  
     We start the year covering place value.  We will learn to write numbers in standard form (1,582), written form ( one thousand, five hundred eighty-two), and expanded form ( 1,000 + 500 + 80 + 2).  We will work with numbers up to the hundred millions place.  We will work on ordering and comparing numbers.  We will also work on properly counting money and properly counting back change.

Language Arts - We have a brand new series this year!!  We are very excited about the new series and what it has to offer.  I will miss a lot of my stories in my old text because there were some really good ones, but I intend on sharing some of those anyways.  This year will be a learning year for me as well, to find my way around the teachers guide and pick the best way to present the lessons to the students.  There is a lesson plan in the book but doesn't give us any idea how much time to spend in each area, so we will be doing that ourselves.  I feel this series will truly benefit student learning, and in looking it over it also some great stories in it.  Our first story is Because of Winn Dixie.  This is a story the kids are familiar with so will be a good one to start with.

Social Studies -  This year we focus on the United States.  In the first 3 chapters we discuss the United States as a whole nation.  We will focus some on Government.  After that the book divides the states into 5 major regions, and we will study a region at a time.  We learn about Native Americans, natural resources, and other interesting facts from each region.  We will also begin to work on Social Studies projects.  I will explain more of this around conference time because that is when we normally begin the separate regions.  I know projects don't sound fun to the parents but this class usually ends up being the favorite of the year.

Science is taught by Mrs. Burg and Religion by Ms. Surma, I recommend you use the links on this page to their blog to keep up with what is going on with your child in those classrooms.

This concludes the first week!!  I am off to surgery tomorrow!  I am sure all will go as planned and I will be back before we know it!!  Again, I hope you all feel blesses that Mrs. Gammell has taken over because she will give 100% to teaching your little ones and making sure they are learning in a safe environment.

God Bless,
Melissa Sickels

Hello Parents!!!

      I am very excited about the upcoming year.  I hope all the students have had a great summer and are ready to come back and be ready to learn.  This year is going to quite different for the students in the beginning and here is why:

     On July 21st I had a seizure and was taken to the hospital by ambulance.  I ended up being admitted to spend the night.  In the ER they ran a CT scan and the next morning an MRI on my head.  They found a small lesion (tumor) on the frontal lobe of my brain.  Wednesday the 24th, I visited a Neural surgeon in Des Moines to discuss the lesion.  He has decided it is in my best interest to remove it.  It is very small, so they can not tell 100% what it is.  They are pretty certain due to calcification around the lesion that it will be benign but won't know until the tumor is removed.  Which is why it is important for it to be removed.  This has been a lot for me to process, but  I will be moving forward with surgery.  My surgery date is Friday, Aug. 23rd.  I will be present for the first three days of school for half days.  I am allowed 4 hours of work a day right now, because I have had a couple more minor seizures since the first one.  After the surgery, depending on how well I do, I will need 30 days of recovery time.  Unless I am doing very well, then it could be less. soooooo.....

     I will have a substitute teacher during the time that I am gone and that will be Mrs. Margy Gammell.  She has spent some time with me discussing the room and how I run the class.  You may need to be patient with her when it comes to this blog, we have looked at it and I have told her this is where the parent letters will need to be.  I also intend to update the blog on my progress maybe once a week to keep you informed about when my return will be.  Mrs. Gammell will be an excellent substitute for me, and will do an excellent job with your children. She is a very caring person who has a talent and love for educating youth and doing what is best for them. 

     Please discuss this with your child and tell them whatever you feel comfortable with.  Please feel free to ask any questions you have for me or for Mrs. Gammell.  She will be present at the open house also.  I understand this is quite a disruption to the classroom and believe me, wish it was not happening.  Timing is definitely not perfect but it never is.  Please pray with your children for a successful surgery and easy recovery for me.  I in turn will pray for Mrs. Gammell and all the students while I am away, anxiously awaiting my return.

God Bless,
Mrs. Sickels  

Dear Parents,
                     This is my last parent letter for the year.  I appreciate all you  have done to help your student this year.  I appreciate you sharing your wonderful child with me.  I have totally enjoyed teaching this group this year.  They have been a lot of fun.  They are a great group.  I highly recommend working with your child with division and multiplication over the summer.  There is a website called bedtimemath, go there and they will give you a problem a day to work.  You don't have to use this at bedtime but you could use at breakfast, lunch, or during a down time in afternoon.  If you are a parent that works, leave it in the morning and give them all day to work the problem, then go over it together when you get home.  It's a great idea!!  Also find them a good book to read!!  Enjoy the summer vacation and all you do!!  Stay safe!!!

Language Arts - Well, we have taken the Unit 6 test, which you will find the results for in the folder today.  We took the End-of-the-Year test today.  I will have those results ready for next Tuesday.  We will finish up by looking at corrections on this last test and share their Author reports.  I am very pleased with overall scores on the Unit 6 test.  All students did very well on the comprehension section.  I was excited!!

Math-  We are working in Geometry this week and finish the last couple of days reviewing fractions.  They have enjoyed these last few days of geometry.  I think some have found it fun.  We discussed a lot of terms this week: point, line, line segment, ray, angle, right angle, acute angle, obtuse angle, straight angle, parallel lines, intersecting lines and perpendicular lines.  That is a lot over two days.  We will take the end of the year Math test on Tuesday morning.

Social Studies -  We have been reading about the West.  We finished one chapter today and will start the last chapter in the book tomorrow.  We will pick up on the most important things in this chapter Friday and Tuesday.  We took our first states and capitals test yesterday.  I handed all but 4 back today.  We will take another one tomorrow.  The final one will be Tuesday where they have to label the states and capitals on a map.  If they are struggling on these small ones the last one will be difficult.  I will give them a map of the West to practice on.  That is the only region they didn't get to study on.

I hope all of you have a great long weekend!!  I also wish all of you the best summer ever!!  I really hope they read a  couple books, participate in lots of out door activities, spend time with family and friends, and most of be safe!!

God Bless,
Mrs. Sickels

Dear Parents,  
           Happy Thursday!!!  One more Thursday after today.  One more post or letter for the year.  We will be doing a lot of assessing over the next week.  Almost every night your child should have something they are looking over.  We have two end of the year tests to take.  One in Language Arts and one in Math.  The math one they took at the beginning of the year, so we will see how much they have grown.  I will be sad to see this class go, they have been a fun group.

Field Trip -  Thank you to all the parents who drove last Friday.  We had a very nice day!!  The weather was a little chilly but sunny.  Some of you have great pictures of the day because your child took pictures of everything!!!  We would like to thank Grandma Kay KInsella for treating all the students to an ice cream cone at Dairy Queen before heading home.  That was a nice surprise!!

Language Arts -  We are finishing up the last story this week.  We will do the Unit 6 test next week and maybe start the End of the year test also.  The last story is a fun one but a long one!!  It is about a guinea pig which is a class pet and it was lost.  Someone left the cage open.  When the students finally find the guinea pig named Chocolate, they have a pleasant surprise.  Ask your child what that surprise was.  Parents, don't panic, these last tests are hard to study for.  For the unit test you can go over the target skills in the book, but the end of the year, there really is not studying for.  We are assessing what the students have retained this year.

Social Studies - Projects are winding down.  The class has all ready taken their last test for me.  We will be moving right into the Western Region today.  We will work hard covering the material on the West right up until the last time we meet.  I am sure you are all ready to kill me because I keep giving all these great ideas for family vacations.  I am sorry.  There are so many great things to see outside of our Region.  Things that your students really seem interested about.  I think it is fun to take them places and show them those things they are truly interested in.  Molly is really wanting to go to South Dakota.  Maybe I can make that happen!!

Math - We are taking a test over Chapter 7 (division) today.  I am looking forward to see how the students are doing in this area.  They have done a good job of working hard to learn the process.  Some have had to work harder than others.  We will be working on some geometry and fractions up until the end of the year.

My Blog - Some of you have signed up to receive notifications from my blog and said it is not working.  When you sign up for notifications it will send you an email verifying your sign up.  You have to go into that email and click on the link to verify.  If you have not done this than you will not receive notifications.  Go back and check your email or sign up again!  Thanks

God Bless,
Mrs. Sickels

Dear Parents,
      Happy Thursday!!!  Only two more letters from me this year!!  WOW!!  Where has the time gone.  Tomorrow is going to be a great trip.  Thank you to all the parents who were willing to drive for me.  I had more offer than I normally do. We are still working very hard in all subjects.  We will continue to do so up until the end.  I have some very important things for them before the end of the year. My cell phone is 641-202-1580 in case you need me tomorrow.  If you do send me a text and I will get back to you  when appropriate.  

Field Trip - Friday is out field trip.  I have received all permission forms and money!! YAY!! Good job parents.  Remember tomorrow we need to leave by 8:00 A.M.  This does mean that bus kids need to be here.  If they ride the bus they will miss going. I would like drivers to arrive by 7:45 and students in my room by 7:50.  We will be arriving home around 3:30.  Please make arrangements for your child to be picked up.  You can text me and ask if we are on time.  I also call the school and make Mrs. Lane aware of our arrival time.

Language Arts -  I am planning on the students taking a Unit Test over Charlie and The Chocolate Factory next week.  It is a short one page test with matching, true/false, short answer and essay.  They will all do fine. I also plan on their projects being due  May 20th.  I am just asking all projects to be due that day.  We will share the candy ones first then if I have to delay presenting til Tuesday and Wednesday that will be those written projects.  I am sure the students are working hard on those projects all ready.  At the end of the year we will take a Unit 6 test plus an End of the Year test.  Next week we will read our last story in the book and then begin preparing for those two things.

Math-  In math we are still working on Division.  I will finish that chapter up next week and we will take a chapter test.  I am curious to see how they are improving in Division.We will also take an End of the Year assessment in Math.  We have all ready taken it at the beginning of the year.  We will take it again to see if there was any improvement.  That will all begin happening after chapter 7 test.

Social Studies - We are moving through the Southwest and will be testing again soon.  I will not spend 3 days on this test, because we need to move on into the West region. I will most likely give them the study guide and the answers.  I will have them put answers on the study guide and then review for a test on the next day.  End of the year comes and a lot of assessing needs to happen.  This doesn't make for a very fun end of the year but it is worth the reward of summer.

Have a great Weekend!! 

God Bless,

Mrs. Sickels

Dear Parents,
       Happy Thursday!! May 2 and SNOW!!  I can't believe it!!!  Someone has made Mother Nature mad and I sure wish they would apologize to her!! Maybe then we can have Spring.  The end of the year is drawing near.  It seems very quick for me because I am planning all the things we need to accomplish before we say good-bye.  I have really enjoyed this class.  They have been a lot of fun but also challenging.  Thank you for sharing your precious gifts with me!

Field Trip -  We will be going to Boone Iowa to ride the Boone Scenic Valley Railroad on Friday, May 10th. Please fill out field trip permission form and return by Wednesday, May 8th. We need to leave at 8:00 A.M. so I ask that all kids arrive in my classroom by 7:50.  It is about a two hour drive.  We will board the train at 10:30 and the ride is an hour and 45 minutes long.  This year we will eat our sack lunches on the train.  When we return to the station at 12:15 we will clean up and have a museum tour from 12:30-1:00.  The museum is new.  Last year it wasn't open yet, so this will be my first experience touring.  There is also a gift shop that I allow the students to go into.  The cost for the trip has gone up due to the renovations they have made.  I ask that each student bring in $5.  This fee includes the train ride and the museum tour.    I plan to arrive home by 3:15-3:30 that day.  The students will miss the bus so arrangements need made to be picked up.  Don't forget lunches!! Also, this crazy Iowa weather, please pay attention and dress accordingly.

Iowa Assessments - The results for your student's Iowa Assessments are in.  I have them in my room.  You may stop in anytime to pick them up from me.  I am available from 7:50-8:20 each morning but Tuesday because I have morning duty.  I am available Monday, Tuesday and Friday from 11:50-12:40. (please contact me if coming then so I don't leave for lunch).  Also 3:15 -3:45 every day depending on my older girls sports schedule.  Again just check with me!!  I would love to show you how your student did.

Social Studies -  Projects start coming due next week.  I have had to change a couple of due dates due to conflicts so make sure you ask your child about changes.  We are testing today over chapter 10.  We will go through chapter 11 just as quickly so we can start on the Western Region.  It is my favorite region because I love the Rocky Mountains.  We will cover that region kind of quickly also.  They are all used to the way we cover a chapter so stepping up the pace this time of year is fine.  Hard to believe I am planning for the end!

Have a great weekend!!

God bless,
Mrs Sickels

Dear Parents,
     I hope all of you can get out and enjoy the nice weather!!!  This weekend is recital weekend (YAY!) for us, so we will be indoors and miss the warm weather we are to get.  We are winding down to the end of the year.  There will be lots of things that we need to accomplish and get taken care of by then.  I plan to work your kids hard until the end.  They are all doing a great job, but having trouble staying seated and using time wisely during study hall is a big issue.  I blame it on "cabin fever" and not being able to be outside when normally we are this time of year.

Language Arts -  We finished the book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on Wednesday!!  I showed the students the older movie with Gene Wilder.  We watched it Thursday afternoon.  I have talked to the students about book projects that can be done.  They were to talk to their parents about the options they have, and I plan on picking them Friday afternoon.  Then they will know what they are doing and can get started.  We have a book report due on May 3rd and than these projects will be due the week of May 20th. 

Math -  We are learning division in Math right now.  This week they have learned the simple form of the standard algorithm and partial product.  Of course, I am hearing that most kids like the partial product way of working a problem.  I am not surprised.  It tends to make so much more sense to the kids.. We have practiced both strategies all week.  Tomorrow we will move on to bigger problems.  I hope they have taught you a little something new about division.

Social Studies -  We have been talking about the Southwest this week.  We finished a movie on the Grand Canyon on Monday.  We began talking about the varied climate of the Southwest states.  We learned about three major areas found in that region:  desserts, savannas, and wetlands.  We talked about plants and animals that can live in these areas also.  Remember your student should be working on a project.  I have a few students who have not brought in poster board yet to for their person or poster.  The longer you wait the more they will be pressed for time.  

Have a great weekend!!! Do something outside!!

God Bless,
Mrs. Sickels

Dear Parents,
      Wow, how about that rain!!  We finally received the much needed rain.  I heard on radio this morning almost 4 inches total.  That should make all the farmers happy!! Students are struggling right now to pay attention and focus.  It definitely showed in their Language Arts test results.  You will find the sheet of results in their folders today.  Please make sure you look them over and sign and return.  I have written notes on some of them.  This is the hardest test of the year dealing with strategies like summarizing, generalizations, and text structure.

Language Arts -  We have started Unit 6 this week.  We are back to a normal routine of spelling tests and reading stories.  We will be finishing Charlie and Chocolate Factory also in next couple of weeks.  We have 5 chapters left.  I plan on showing the movie next Thursday afternoon.  It is a great time after they worked hard on Lap-a-thon in the morning.  We will then work on picking projects.  

Dollars for Scholars Essay-  We worked on an essay the week after Spring Break for the Dollars for Scholars group.  The 4th graders were asked to write "Why Education Is Important to Me".  They wrote their response, which had to be 250 words or less, and then we edited and revised.  Ms. Hartstack and I mainly focused on spelling and punctuation.  We did not change the way a student worded things.  We may have pointed out areas where things were confusing and didn't make sense but the student had to make the changes.  The essays were judged by three teachers in this building and the top 3 essays were chosen.  Congratulations to Olivia Hagen, Ansley Waigand, and Sierra Myers for writing essays that advance to the next level.  The essays were then given to the Dollars for Scholars group to be judged by a group of teachers from SWCC.  There will be one winner from these three girls that will be awarded a $50 savings bond.  Good luck to all three!!  We will not hear anything until mid May.

Social Studies-  We have begin Chapter 10 on the Southwest region.  We have started by talking about the Grand Canyon.  We talked about who first saw it and who was the first person to explore through it.  We will be watching a video I have on it when we finish reading the lesson.  We will view it Friday and Monday.  It is very interesting and shows great views of the National Park.  I will work on getting the students their due dates for their last project while they are watching the video.  Due dates will range between May 6-17.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!!!   

God Bless,
Mrs. Sickels

Attention!!

Lap-a-thon 

&

Spring Clean-up is postponed

Until next week!!!

Dear Parents,

Happy Thursday!!! We are finishing up Iowa Assessments today!!! This is the new name to the ITBS tests.  We tested on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday mornings.  I really hope everyone encouraged their children to do well.  I will be anxious to see the student's scores.  Next week we will go back to a completely normal week with a regular routine.

Language Arts -  We took the Unit 5 test this week.  Not one f the best tests we have taken in 4th grade.  Please look for their results in next week's folder.  We continue to read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in class.  We have created golden tickets and they are hanging in the hallway.  We have been talking about when we will watch the movie and when the final project for this unit will be due.

Social Studies - We will be beginning the Southwest Region.  I have assigned the new projects this week.  I combine the Southwest States and the Western States together.  This is the last project for them!!!  Time flies when you are creating fun things!!  I am looking forward to this last project.  All of their projects have been great.  I can see they are putting some effort into their work.  I am very pleased with them.  We will move through the Southwest a little faster that the other chapters so I can get to the West Region.

Math - We have finished up chapter 6 test and will be starting chapter 7 on Division.  Please begin going over flash cards with your child.  We will start out easy then move into long division. I have a new way to show them to divide.  It is called "Partial Quotient".  Something I am sure the parents haven't seen.  You may learn something from your 4th grader.

Have a great weekend!!
Mrs. Sickels

This is Iowa Assessment Week!!  4th graders spend their mornings testing.  Thanks to the PTO for providing some "brain food" while we work hard.  Make sure your child is getting enough sleep at night and a big breakfast to help them do their very best!!!!

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